Classic Motorsports magazine covers a lot of topics about classic and vintage cars across many different marques… British, German, Italian, and sometimes American. Recently though, there has been deeper delving into the Lotus spectrum. Last summer, there was a side-by-side driving comparison of a Lotus Seven and Lotus Elan. This past fall, they had on the cover none other than members Bob and Sue Herzog’s Lotus Cortina Estate wagon, plus an accompanying article. Now, in the current January issue, the Lotus Elan is featured in the Tech Tips section, with member Frank Filicicchia providing expert advice.
Usually, Lotus doesn’t get this much press. Despite their accomplishments in racing and advancing innovative design, Lotus is still a very tiny fish in a huge automotive ocean. So what is happening to wake up the Classic Motorsports team to the Lotus marque? It turns out that publisher Tim Suddard picked up a decrepit old Lotus Cortina, and an even more decrepit Lotus Elan in the Traverse City area of Michigan, which probably sparked a higher interest in the marque.
Hauling the cars back to his Florida headquarters, Tim says he has every intention of putting the Elan back on the road. In fact, the restoration process is to be featured in a series of upcoming articles in Classic Motorsports, which should be of great interest to all Lotus enthusiasts. I am certain that Tim and company would really appreciate receiving some of the extensive wealth of advice, information, and experience that is within the Lotus community, not to mention within our own club. The next year or so of Classic Motorsports magazine should be especially fun to read.
